


Banjo's Back

by ThatScottishShipper



Category: Banjo-Kazooie Series, Super Smash Brothers
Genre: Childhood Friends, Don’t post to another site, Friendship, Gen, Jigsaw Puzzles, Memories, Nostalgia, Painting, Return, Second Chances, World Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-05-07 19:12:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19215748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatScottishShipper/pseuds/ThatScottishShipper
Summary: For the longest time, Banjo and Kazooie have come across a mysterious Portrait slowly becoming complete piece by piece in Gruntilda's Lair.Once the final Jiggy piece clicks into place, they are given a second chance.*Inspired by the awesome Super Smash Bros Ultimate trailer.*





	Banjo's Back

“ _Entering a Witch’s Lair,_

_Here they come, a Bird and Bear.”_

“ _Shh_ , Kazooie…”

 

Slowly stepping into the desolate ruins of Gruntilda’s Lair, wet green stones squelched beneath Banjo’s padded paws. Only the flicker of a lantern he held pierced through the pitch black Mountain’s Maw. Previous cave-ins blocked the tight paths further into the belly of the beast, leaving only the entrance accessible to anyone brave enough to tread old ground.

And Banjo, along with his long time friend Kazooie, dared to enter, more than familiar with the location from all their adventures. Gruntilda’s broken portrait greeted them, discoloured by damp conditions and the sands of time.

But the glowing presence above the moss-covered rockery, hidden in the corner, drew the greatest interest.

 

Clambering up the slippery slope, Banjo flinched at the greater source of the light, and Kazooie’s honk of displeasure bounced inside the darkness. Giving her another reprimanding shush, he returned to the matter at hand.

Once, a Jiggy lurked there, the first attained on their journey to rescue Tooty.

In its place, a puzzle pieced platform, shining like a beacon in the shadows, and an alluring portrait on the cold, stone wall. Reminiscent of the paintings that once came to life, whisking Banjo and Kazooie sizzling sunshine beaches and crisp chilly snow worlds, this strange picture already held pieces together, slowly revealing a black canvas.

This was, after all, not their first encounter with the painting, but it still inspired questions rather than answers.

 

Banjo scratched his chin, observing the Black Portrait curiously. He did what always came natural when facing these familiar puzzle paintings in the Lair - he stepped onto the platform, the light energy tingling at his pawed feet.

As expected, a golden piece appeared inside the frame, then slowly melted against the hungry black picture, but ultimately revealing nothing more.

Narrowing her dazzling green eyes, Kazooie questioned her friend. “Whaddaya think, Banjo?”

But Banjo simply shook his head. “Not got a clue, Kazoo...”

If his Bird buddy was bothered by the nickname, she concealed it well, not that she held her tongue on matters. “It's unfinished, is what it is. Somebody got lazy.”

A smile softened Banjo’s cheerful face. ‘ _Typical Kazooie, can't resist a crack at something or somebody…’_

 

Then the Bear mulled on that interesting point. Who exactly did create this Black Portrait? Gruntilda was long gone, and this unusual painting just… _appeared_ one day.

Blessed frames infused with witchy magic, old Grunty gave the residents of Spiral Mountain a run for their money. But sometimes, during these old excursions into the Lair, Banjo thought he heard cackling rhymes drift through the remains.

Sharp, witty rhymes that seemingly echoed from every cobwebbed corner, in every nook and cranny.

He almost missed them. _Almost_.

 

His reminiscence was shattered by a hard peck on the head, and a cheeky chuckle.

“Once you're done daydreaming,” Kazooie blurted, flicking her buttercup yellow tinged feathers towards the close to completed picture. “Can we get back to this eyesore? We've been coming here for ages, and I still don't have a clue what it is!”

 

As sharp as her tone was, Banjo knew Kazooie was correct. Since the aftermath of their last adventure, which felt like a lifetime ago, they had returned to this place, and every time, there were new Jiggy’s glimmering in the faint candlelight.

Clueless as to where these Jiggy's in question even came from, Banjo held onto the belief that once the Black Portrait was complete, something would happen. But the only thing he saw with every new piece fitting was the black hole in the wall growing, like a ravenous mouth, waiting to devour anyone foolish enough to draw near.

Banjo recalled the broken grates in Clanker’s Cavern, slimy green creatures with _too many_ jagged teeth, and he gulped.

 

Kazooie glared at her best friend. “Do I need to peck you again?”

Shooting her a warning look, Banjo then fixated on that empty corner, a void of the portrait without a puzzle piece. ‘ _One more_ ,’ he thought, obsessed with the answers this unusual picture obtained therein. ‘ _Just one more piece, and we’ll know for sure._ ’

 

Suddenly, a warmth flooded from the puzzled platform Banjo stood on, embracing them both like a long overdue hug. Kazooie’s felt every fiery red feather flutter in the gust that erupted from beneath them.

“What's happening?” Panicked, the breegull peered at her friend, seeking reassurance. “ _Banjo?”_

 

The Bear in question stood perplexed, flinching at the blinding sparks of light manifesting before them. For the first time in ages, the Lair was illuminated, unveiled by wondrous life caressing every stone and scurrying beetle.

In a flash, Banjo beheld what he and Kazooie longed for all these years, seeking answers in the decrepit darkness. He held his curious paws out, trailing the intense sunshine aura that echoed around that one last perfect Jiggy.

Before either of them could snatch it, the puzzle piece snapped into the Black Portrait with an almighty, satisfying _click_.

 

Then the painting burst to life.

Voracious flames crackled along the wooden frames and into the ball of fire burning within. In that solitude space, the sun-like force grew brighter, hotter, until the two could no longer keep their eyes open. Erupting from the painting, a sudden flash, and Banjo closed his bright blue eyes, while Kazooie tried to shield them with a giant red wing.

It wasn't until Banjo felt himself whisked into a dizzying delirium, sucked into the Black Portrait itself, that everything became clear. The Bear was unable to coherently convey what exactly this feeling felt like, but it felt like…

 _Home_.

 

After countless years, Banjo and his bird buddy had not aged a day, but he knew others had. Old friends, unseen by him, but very much journeying alongside him the entire way.

Every Jiggy and Jinjo saved, every jingle of a musical note, every step in strange new lands, Banjo - and Kazooie too - were never alone. Memories of a fern green Spiral Mountain melody, to the eerie twilight of Mad Monster Mansion’s Requiem, resonated strongly in Banjo, and - he pondered - these invisible friends.

Saving his little sister, Tooty, even Spiral Mountain itself from Gruntilda and her own sisters…

They had watched, encouraged him, guided him every step of the way with youthful spirit and a friendship unmeasured by time.

No matter how lonely these long years had been, Banjo wasn’t alone.

They had never gave up on them, even when Spiral Mountains became overcast with oppressive dark clouds and the future was uncertain.

A friendship, forged by nostalgia, pieced together the path to a second chance, a new life.

 

By the time he landed into the sunset cast jungle, Banjo beamed alongside Kazooie, whipping out their musical instruments - a banjo for the Bear and a silver kazoo in the beak for the Bird.

His heart _heard_ them, those old unseen friends of theirs, loud and clear.

From the corner of her beak, Kazooie smirked. “Ready to kick butt, Banjo?”

And Banjo grinned, delicately plucking at the strings. “Raring to go, Kazooie.”

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Big surprise that I freaking LOVED the Super Smash Bros Ultimate reveal, and I was a cheering, weeping mess. Because Banjo & Kazooie are wholesome childhood heroes, and they deserve this chance back in the spotlight.
> 
> I know I'm not alone in how special B&K are to me, and I grew up with these two, replaying the game so many times, and just falling completely in love with it.
> 
> Everything I wrote, particularly near the end, is very much a reflection of how much these characters mean to so many gamers out there, even today, and we are the "older unseen friends" that connected (like a complete puzzle) over B&K and wanted to see them come back.
> 
> And they are, and I could not be happier.
> 
> I also still have the N64 cartridge, and I still love to play it. 💖
> 
> Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. 💖


End file.
